Hamburgers vs. Bratwurst

Germany is a beautiful country filled with wonderful people and living here has been an amazing experience. Due to my time here, I've discovered many things I want to improve in the United States, but also have gained a greater appreciation for things back home that I often took for granted. 

Well to start off, I feel it is prudent that I say after living for only six weeks in Germany, I in no way claim to be an expert on German/European culture, and even after living for twenty-three years in the United States, I realize that my opinion and experiences in the States are much different than other people's.  So keeping that in mind, here are what I see as some of the differences between living in two similar, yet distinctly unique cultures.

The chief difference between Germany and the United States, is caused by, you guessed it, capitalism.  In the United States everything is based on money and competition.  From a very early age an American is taught to "Fight for your rights,"  "Let your opinion be heard," and "Never take no for an answer." In high school, students are rated as the best to worst student in their graduating class, compete for a starting position on the football team or a lead in the school play, and are told that their academic and extra curricular performance will directly determine their ability to attend college and receive scholarships.  Lastly, as adults, Americans work countless hours to become a partner in their firm, want to have the biggest house on their street, and push their kids to be the best athlete on the block.  Competition permeates every facet of society, pushing people to achieve success, and also causing them to test their limits.

In America, if you aren't busy, you are lazy and if you aren't giving it your all, you might as well quit trying.  This attitude effects all aspects of culture, and contributes to creating a polar society.  For example, America has some of the most physically fit individuals, but also some of the fattest and most unhealthy.  It has a lot of rich people, but also a lot of poor ones, etc.  In Germany, rather than going to the gym for two hours a day, people ride their bikes instead of drive, make a healthy meal at home instead of grabbing a quick bite to eat at a drive through, and have a much more realistic self image.  Do as many people have bulging biceps and washboard abs?  Definitely not.  However, there aren't as many oompa loompa's walking around either.  Also, people don't feel the constant need to be the best in everything they do.  They are satisfied with doing a good job, and aren't as proned to pulling an all nighter in order to achieve a perfect score.

In addition, a successful individual in the United States is one who has a successful career, a fancy car, volunteers regularly, is involved in many community activities, has a good family, etc. etc.  However, in Germany, becoming rich and always having your time occupied with events and meetings, is not something that is valued at all.  People don't work to attain wealth, they work to pay the bills and place a much higher value on the importance of relaxation.  The average worker receives six weeks of vacation a year, very few people work more than 40 hours a week, and people are less involved within community organizations, allowing more time for rest and relaxation.  In addition, materialism is much less prevalent.  Many people I know here don't have dishwashers or dryers, the houses are much more modestly sized, families own one car, and people never use credit cards.  Rather than buying a big screen TV, people go on vacation and place more value in non-material goods.

However, aren't the activities Americans fill their time with good things?  In many ways they are.  Being involved in a church and other activities promote service, are another avenue in which one can achieve success and give back, and help develop other valuable skillsets.  However, when does too much of a good thing become a bad thing?  At what point does being involved in activities go from being a way to form community and give back, to being another contributor to stress?   Are religious people more able to do the work of God by being in a Bible study and going on mission trips, or by having the time to drink a coffee with a neighbor who doesn't know the love of Jesus?

These are the questions I've been trying to answer myself.  As an American, I loved my upbringing.  I enjoyed competitive sports, being involved in student government, church activities, etc.  In addition, I loved how being involved afforded me the opportunity to get to know so many different new and exciting people.  Americans definitely have larger social circles than Germans, but Americans also don't have near as much time to spend with their friends and family. 

Ironically, it is often the things that frustrate me about America that I miss most.  Despite being predominately non-religious, everything is closed here on Sundays.  There is no 24 hour Walmart, most stores are closed by 8 o'clock, and I sometimes miss my busy lifestyle back home.  In addition, even though it can be overdone, I love how I feel pushed to be the best I possibly can be in the States.  My friends challenge me to be better in every area of my life, and as a competitive person, I'm greatly motivated by winning.  All of these things have challenged my perspective, because I have seen many components of German society that I feel are better than in America, and I have really had to evaluate the ins and outs of my personal and societal values.

Well, this is by far not an all inclusive list of the differences I've noticed here.  Others include, Americans place a much higher value on individualism, thus the reason they are often deemed loud and obnoxious, religion plays a much more important role in the majority of Americans' lives, and people from the States are WAY more patriotic.  However, each of these topics could be another painfully long page for each of you to read and I've probably already bored you enough. haha.

Overall, I think the number one thing I've learned is how important it is to get outside of your own culture in order to gain a new perspective.  There are people of all types in every culture, so there are many exceptions to all of my above statements, but it is fascinating how much the society in which you were raised determines your values and way of viewing the world.

Thanks for reading, even though I think I do these blogs more to organize my own thoughts than for anything else...haha  and I will update you soon on my upcoming trip to Frankfurt, Dublin, Edinburgh, London, and Amsterdam!

Much Love,
Trevor